Inside the Braves with MLB.com's Mark Bowman

Chipper returns to Turner Field to see injury-ravaged lineup

So far so good for Chipper Jones. Now he can only hope that the next six months provided the kind of encouragement he’s gained in the 24 hours that have followed the season-ending surgical procedure that was performed on his left knee Saturday.

Supported by crutches and displaying a heavily wrapped left leg, Jones returned to Turner Field for Sunday afternoon’s game. He was planning to wait until Monday to return. But a rough night of sleep led him to come back to the Ted with the hope of encouraging his teammates and providing himself some sanity.

As he expected Jones feels much better than he did in 1994 when his left ACL was repaired via an intrusive surgical process. The arthroscopic surgery that he underwent yesterday allowed him to awake Sunday with the hope that he might be able to start riding a stationary bike as soon as Monday.

Jones said the pain pill he took before going to bed Saturday night didn’t knock him out like he’d hoped. But this wasn’t too surprising. I’ve got a feeling some of you might have also had trouble sleeping after watching the Braves offense struggle through the first two games of this series.

Without Martin Prado and Jones, this lineup has proven to be rather weak. It was further weakened Sunday, when Jason Heyward was given a chance to further rest the sore right knee that sidelined him Tuesday and Wednesday.

Heyward said he expects to be back in the lineup for Monday night’s series finale against the Dodgers.

As for Prado, he took batting practice again on Sunday and seemed ready to play a rehab game for Triple-A Gwinnett Monday night. While the All-Star second baseman has been sidelined since July with a fractured right pinky, the Braves have batted .217 and compiled a .302 on-base percentage.

This explains why the Braves are planning for Prado to play just one rehab game. They are hoping that he’ll be ready to be activated for Tuesday night’s series opener against the Nationals.

Ugly RISP stat: The Braves have managed to go 11-10 while hitting just .182 (33-for-181) with runners in scoring position dating back to July 23.

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24 Comments

Is it bad that in the 3rd, I was hoping Glaus would strike out so he would not into a DP. Here is my prediction for Mark’s blog tomorrow.

“Freddie Freeman has been called up and Troy Glaus has been placed on the 15 day DL to rest his ailing knees. The Braves hope is that the rest will help Glaus knees in time for a September playoff run. It is the Braves hope that Freeman can provide some of the production, they have been lacking since Glaus went into a prolonged slump”

I have nothing against Troy Glaus personally and I truly believe that he is giving the Braves 100%. I also believe that when healthy, he could contribute to any major league team. However, he is not healthy and anyone that watches him play can see that. He has had two good swings in a month – HR and double to RC last week.

It doesn’t help when Ankiel and AGon are batting 2 and 3, both of whom haven’t shown the greatest ability to get on base. And Glaus batting 4th yesterday? If the lineup were constructed using the least bit of logic, things would be a little better. But Bobby continues to favor loyalty to the seasoned (or aged?) veterans.

What is the possibility of trading Troy Glaus to a minor league team and getting a real first baseman that can handle a bat and a glove? I just don’t think that he is the right fit for the Braves. He is slow, can’t field his position, and CAN NOT handle a bat. Please save us a little embarassment and get Glaus off the team. He is responsible for stopping way to many run opportunities.

Ok, the Braves are 4 for 7 with runners on in this game. Troy Glaus is 0 for 2. I’ve been really patient with him, but we cant wait for him to come along at this point. As awesome as he was in May, he has been that terrible ever since. We have a guy at Gwinnett with a .312/.373/.519 line. That’s an .891 OPS. Oh yeah, and he’s 20 and not washed up. And an entire season of his salary is less than one of Glaus’ bonuses.

Oh and bravesman, if you you go back over to DOB’s blog, you can claim 1st and make ridiculous arguments with no facts to back them up and no one will notice. Hey, did you see that Brooks went 2-4 and is about to pass Glaus for batting average???? That’s the thing about a small statistical pool that you like to rely on, things change in a hurry.

u know maybe this is a sign that the braves are gonna be ok and maybe just maybe sneek into the playoffs. But i was wondering when they expand the rosters who are the canidates gonna be. I know its gonna be Freeman and Hicks but any idea who else, Mclouth? Matt young? Timmons is someone i wouldnt mind seeing coming up and getting a round in with the Big league team. I think for outfielders its gonna be Mclouth Wilkin Ramirez pitchers i bet its gonna be KK Marek Kimbrel and for infielders Hicks Freeman and timmons or Thurston.

Well, it was good to see the offensive output today. Let’s hope that today’s cuts lead us into an offensive upswing. Once again, the pitching was great again today. Those last couple of series against the Phils late in the season are going to be very interesting if we can continue to get some output from Gonzo and Glaus. If not, it’s going to be a rough ride. Hopefully, once we get Prado and Heyward back in the lineup, we can put some runs up on the board. Also, it will be interesting to see where KK plays into the 5th starter role since Minor pulled his weight last start….

I would be surprised if the Braves ventured beyond the 40 man roster for more than Freeman. Adding Wes Timmons would be a huge gesture for the dedication that guy has shown, and the work he does on a day by day basis. It would be a nice reward for Wes and his family for all the work and sacrifice they have put in. It would impress all of you if you knew the extent to which he and his wife have supported the Gwinnett team (and staff) and their families. They are the best.
Unfortunately, I’d still be surprised if they did it for him though. Business is business.

Oh alright shaunson, I’d only seen the $350k bonuses.
billreef, I think I’ll pass on your offer, I don’t even read the comments over there, all anyone does is rip on the struggling Braves, which is quite stupid, so I see no point in even goin over there. Thanks though. You’re right, Brooks had 2 hits. So did Troy. He also happened to have a bomb and 4 rbis. But of course that’s just today, and he’s fixing to go on a 0-35 slump so what do I know.

Oh and I will say this, I’m not arguing how streaky Troy is or how awful his homerless streak was, but Jason can be just as streaky at times, and he had a pretty bad homerless streak going a while back, before his homer against the ‘Stros the other night, it’d been 125 at bats since his last homer, since June 17. I know he was hurt in there, but still. Troy has been hurting for quite a long time as well

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